Thread: Latino Democrats look to re-introduce DREAM Act in 2012

Latino Democrats look to re-introduce DREAM Act in May 2012

Posted by Emily Wilkins on April 19, 2012 at 5:26 pm



El Paso Democratic Rep. Silvestre Reyes and San Antonio Democratic Rep. Charlie Gonzalez, as well as other members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, are supporting a campaign that launched today to pass the DREAM Act after it fell four votes shy of passing in the Senate last May.


“(Young Latinos) are an essential part of the future of this country,” Gonzalez said at a news conference today for the launch of the campaign. “We have a tremendous investment in young Latinos.”
At the DREAM Act’s core is to provide permanent residency for undocumented immigrants who arrived in the U.S. as minors and have graduated from a U.S. high school. Various versions of the bill have been debated by the Congress since 2001, with the latest being introduced in May 2011.


This new campaign is an effort by several groups focused on helping undocumented youth become U.S. citizens. Besides promoting the DREAM Act, the campaign will also show which congress members support the initiative, and which ones do not.


Reyes called out Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney for his remarks about vetoing any DREAM Act that would make it to his Oval Office.
“I think it’s more reprehensible, more irresponsible statement that any presidential candidate would ever make,” Reyes said.


Cal Jillson, a professor of political science at Southern Methodist University, said the Democratic Party – which all Congress members at the gathering today were a part of – were “trying to make the Republicans appear harsh and unbending” in an election year.
Jillson said he does not believe Democrats will get a majority of House seats come November, barring the DREAM Act from being brought up.


“The president said he would bring up immigration reform and he didn’t do that,” Jillson said. “Hispanics are disappointed that the Democrats did not move quickly enough.”

Latino Democrats look to re-introduce DREAM Act in 2012 | Texas on the Potomac | a Chron.com blog